Ghana practising penalties

Ghana players have been practising penalties pretty intensely ahead of Saturday’s quarter-final clash with Cape Verde at the 2013 tournament.

The Black Stars have suffered cruel penalty misses at major tournaments in the past and coach Kwesi Appiah is looking to banish the demons.

In preparation for the knock-out stage of the competition, the squad took some time in Wednesday’s training session at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University to rehearse.

Among manager Kwesi Appiah’s first five penalty takers will be Mubarak Wakaso, Kwadwo Asamoah, Christian Atsu and a few others.

Captain Asamoah Gyan has opted out of taking penalties in regulation time for Ghana but would be happy to step up if required in the shoot-out.

Meanwhile three of Appiah’s injured players are back in full training.

Striker Richmond Boakye-Yiadom, midfielders Mubarak Wakaso and Anthony Annan all joined the full session for the first time on Wednesday since suffering injuries.

The trio who did light training on Tuesday morning joined, the rest of the squad as they stepped up their recovery.

Their return gives Appiah more options ahead of the quarterfinal clash against Cape Verde on Saturday.

I’m disappointed I didn’t score – Manucho

Angola captain Manucho has yet to come terms with his barren streak at the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.

The 29-year old has expressed disappointment for failing to hit the back of the net in a familiar competition such as the showpiece African football tournament.

Manucho cut his teeth with four goals on his maiden appearance five years ago in Ghana with four goals before managing two goals at the 2010 edition staged in his homeland. Though the Palancas failed to go beyond the group stage at the last edition co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, the Real Valladolid marksman maintained his record with three goals.